Cityflo and Project Mumbai Launch Onboard Mini Libraries on Commuter Buses

Urban bus service Cityflo has partnered with citizen body Project Mumbai to launch ‘Turning Pages’, a new initiative that transforms select commuter buses across Mumbai into mini libraries. The program allows passengers to read, borrow, exchange, and donate books during their daily journeys across the city.

The project is being rolled out as part of Project Mumbai's broader Read Mumbai movement, which aims to encourage reading habits among citizens. Under the pilot phase, designated Cityflo buses will carry a curated collection of titles across several genres, including fiction, business, self-development, biographies, and contemporary Indian writing. Commuters can pick up books during their transit, share reading recommendations, and contribute their own books to the collection.

Sankalp Kelshikar, chief marketing officer and co-founder of Cityflo, stated that the daily commute represents one of the few windows of personal time available to working professionals in the city. He noted that the collaboration aims to help passengers reclaim that time for reading rather than spending it on screens, while also providing a channel for commuters to donate books to fellow travelers.

Project Mumbai founder and chief executive officer Shishir Joshi said the initiative blends the city's culture of daily transit with citizen engagement and collaborative partnerships. He added that the program seeks to draw on the goodwill of commuters to create shared community spaces within everyday transit settings.

Regular passengers have welcomed the move as an alternative to screen time during long travel hours. Commuters noted that access to onboard books provides an opportunity to read and explore new perspectives during transit times that can often extend up to two hours each day.